Limited Recall of Some Gluten-Free Cheerios

MINNEAPOLIS (CN) – Citing the presence of wheat in cereals meant to be gluten-free, General Mills is voluntary recalling certain boxes of Cheerios produced in California. General Mills announced Monday that it is voluntarily recalling several days of production of Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios cereal produced at in Lodi, Calif., on certain dates in July 2015. The recall stems from an isolated incident at the facility in which wheat flour was inadvertently introduced into the gluten-free oat flour system. The wheat contamination did not affect any other facility, nor did it affect any other GM cereal made in Lodi. “As a result, the products may contain an undeclared allergen – wheat – in products labeled as gluten-free,” GM said in a statement. Consumers with wheat allergies, celiac disease or gluten intolerance who bought an affected product should contact General Mills for a replacement or full refund, the company said. GM specified that the voluntary recall includes four days production of original Cheerios in the yellow box, and 13 days of production of Honey Nut Cheerios. If the boxes came from Lodi, they would be stamped with the plant code LD. The code to tell if the box is affected appears after a “better if used by” stamp. For regular Cheerios in the yellow box, the code is 14JUL2016LD through 17JUL2016LD. For Honey Nut Cheerios, the code is 12JUL2016LD through 25JUL2016LD. GM notes that it is transitioning five varieties of Cheerios to gluten-free. The company’s other gluten-free Cheerios varieties – including Apple Cinnamon Cheerios, Frosted Cheerios and MultiGrain Cheerios – are not impacted and are not being recalled, GM emphasized. Consumers can contact GM Consumer Services at 1.800.775.8370 with concerns.